The Cursed Shell

19

The assassin started driving. Krystene relaxed on the comfortable seat. Finally her attention turned towards her phone. She found a whatsapp message by an unknown number.

"Brute?" she exclaimed a whisper as she read the message.

KRYSTENE, IT'S BRUTE COYLE. YOU ARE NOT PICKING MY CALL. CALL ME BACK WHEN YOU ARE FREE. AND YES, IF SOMEONE COMES TO ADOPT YOU, BE CAREFUL AND CALL ME WITHOUT LETTING THE PERSON GET AWARE OF THAT.

She couldn't believe her eyes. How did he know that someone was coming to adopt her? She felt a little uncomfortable as he commented on her new father.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on a sharp shining knife on the seat beside the driver's seat. She crossed her eye–brows. Why had he kept a knife beside him?

Soon, the assassin understood that Krystene was staring at the knife beside him. He picked the knife and pushed it inside his pocket.

'Why's he keeping a knife in his pocket?' Krystene thought.

She widened her eyes when she realised what was happening. She thought, 'Oh my god, Brute, help me!'

Brute Coyle had almost closed his eyes on the study table of Todd Lamb. He had an unsuccessful chase of knowing more about Devaant the cursed shell the night before. He didn't even realise when his eye–lids became heavy and covered his vision.

Crunchy was still coiled on the floor–carpet.

Dhawan was lying on the floor beside Crunchy, snoring loudly. It was the most irritating mission he had ever been to.

Mr Lamb was in the kitchen, making a little coffee for himself.

Brute opened his eyes when Dhawan's phone beeped. He wiped his drool and looked at the phone's screen and then exclaimed a shout. "Krystene has replied the message!"

Dhawan opened his eyes.

Crunchy jumped and ran to the corner-most end of the room and stuck to the wall in horror.

"What has she messaged?" Dhawan asked, standing up.

Lamb appeared at the door of the room.

Brute narrowed his eyes and read the message texted by Krystene. A moment later, he gazed up at him with a worried expression.

"What happened?" Dhawan asked.

"She's in danger," Brute declared. "She's in a car with the killer!"

Krystene was shivering in fear. The unknown killer was taking her through a road which goes deep inside the forest. But for Krystene, it could be the road for the Heaven. She couldn't speak a word in horror. 'I don't want to die', she thought.

Stephenson was suspecting that the girl had recognised that he had come to kill her. 'Who cares?' he thought. 'Even if the girl cries, no one is gonna hear her.'

Krystene's cell–phone beeped.

The assassin leaned back. Krystene gave him a forced smile. The assassin smiled back and turned towards the road again.

Krystene gazed back at her phone. She found a message texted back by Brute.

CAN I CALL YOU?

Krystene looked ahead at the massive killer. He wasn't looking at her. She turned back to her phone and texted a message back to Brute.

YOU CAN CALL ME BUT SPEAK SLOWLY OR ELSE HE WOULD HEAR IT.

She put her phone in silent-mode and closed her eyes. She was in a situation where death was guaranteed. She was trying to remind the best moments in her life and miss them for the last time. She didn't know what happens after death. She had heard a few people saying that death is a pain which lasts for a few seconds only. She was wishing that the theory of afterlife is true. She wanted to live. She had never seen a dead body in her life. She wondered what would happen if she dies. She wasn't even sure that her body would ever be found.

She opened her eyes when her phone vibrated. It was a WhatsApp call by Brute. She picked it up. "Hello?" she slowly whispered. She had to ensure that the killer thinks it as a random call.

'Must be calling a friend to tell him or her the good news that she is adopted,' Stephenson thought. 'Talk, talk. It would be your last phone–call.'

"Hello? Krystene? Are you okay?" Brute's voice whispered from the phone.

"Yeah", Krystene sounded sad and afraid. Tears washed down her cheeks. She tried her best not to cry but she couldn't. She cried silently, making no sound at all.

"Is the killer hearing us?" Brute asked.

Krystene turned her horrified gaze at the killer. "No."

"Fine," Brute sounded hopeful. "You trust me?"

"Yes", Krystene's almost silent voice said.

"Everything will be okay. You'll be rescued by Joshua Lamb," Brute said.

'Joshua Lamb?' she thought. 'Is he joking?'

"First tell me," Brute's voice almost hushed, "how does the killer look like?"

Krystene ensured twice that the call was not audible to the killer. Then she turned her gaze away from the massive man and whispered back in her phone. "He is bald and has massive shoulders. He also has red beard."

"Fine," Brute said, "what car does he have? Where's he taking you?"

"It's Mercedes Benz," Krystene whispered back. "He's taking me deep in-" before Krystene could complete, a massive hand snatched the cell–phone from her hand and forced Krystene to squeal.

"Hello?" Brute shouted and stood up from his chair. "Krystene? Krystene? Speak something!"

Dhawan and Lamb stepped closer to him with their eye–brows crossed.

An adult laugh was audible from the phone now.

"Who–who's this?" Brute snapped.

"Mr Coyle," a calm English voice spoke from the phone. "I'm taking your friend deep inside the forest and I'll burry her corpse after I penetrate a bullet through her head. Is that enough for your knowledge?"

The line went dead.

Brute's eyes were still opened wide in horror.

"I'll trace the girl's phone", Dhawan bolted towards a computer kept on a table at the corner of the room.

"What's the password?" he switched the computer on.

"I'll fill it", Lamb stepped towards him.

"C'mon, it's an emergency!" Dhawan barked.